A strong storm system that had a history of producing deadly tornadoes across Oklahoma and the deep south on the 14th and 15th weakened as it crossed the southern Appalachians during the early morning hours of the 16th. A squall line descended the Blue Ridge by the late morning hours, and rapidly intensified as it moved east into the central Piedmont of North Carolina, with four long live tornadic supercells evolving from the linear convective segment. These tornadic supercells went on to produce 9 tornadoes in the Raleigh CWA, including 2 EF3s, and 4 EF2s. The tornadoes left 6 dead with approximately 275 injuries.

Event Narrative

The tornado exited Harnett County and continued northeast into southern Johnston County. The tornado track south of Benson, where it crossed NC Highway 242 and NC Highway 50. Several modular homes were destroyed, and numerous other homes sustained major damage. There was also hundreds of trees that were uprooted or snapped in half. The tornado subsequently crossed Interstate 40 near mile Marker 330 and continued moving northeast to just south of Four Oaks before crossing Interstate 95 near mile marker 90. The tornado lifted just before reaching Smithfield, where little or no damage was observed. Throughout this part of the track there was a broad swath of EF0 damage with embedded areas of EF1 and EF2 damage. In total, 450 homes were damaged, of which 287 homes were completely destroyed.